


Insufferable

by Reddragon2



Category: iKON (Kpop)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 13:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6857344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddragon2/pseuds/Reddragon2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Summer has her allowance cut she can't believe her luck when she lands a part-time job as a cleaner for YG Entertainment.  She can't help but fantisize about all the different possibilities, until she has a run in with Koo Junhoe of iKON and learns that some truths are far harder to swallow.  He is brash and rude and won't stop rubbing Summer the wrong way.  But is it possible for a mutual dislike to turn into something else?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Summer sighed as she ran the cloth over the mirror again and again in circular motions that made the muscles in her arm scream. Someone had been smudging the mirror up again and how they had reached the top she couldn’t understand. Just to clean it she had had to pull out a step ladder, moving slowly along the wall length expanse, reaching as far as she could either direction before shuffling over. She was currently towards the very end and was eager to finish it all off when the sound of the door opening and movement caught her attention. Glancing over her shoulder she saw it was Bobby who had entered the room and was smiling brightly as he spotted her.

“Ah, noona there you are; I was looking for you everywhere. I know it might seem a little out of the blue, but I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some food when you’re finished?” he asked and Summer thought her heart might beat right out of her chest. Was he really asking her to go and eat with him? Blushing lightly she nodded, turning to face the mirror again. It was the last thing she had to do and she was now determined to get it over with as fast as possible. Lifting the spray bottle she squeezed the trigger and began to clean, leaning over further and further in a refusal to move the ladder. She just had to reach the top corner, just a little bit more… she let out a squeak as she felt the contraption slip out from under her and she was falling, falling into someone’s arms.

Looking up she found Bobby there, having caught her in a movie like moment. She smiled up at him, breathing her thanks and he grinned back at her. Then they were frozen, staring into each other’s eyes and closing the gap inch by inch. He was just about to press his lips against her when she felt a jolt…

The squeak was louder when Summer returned to reality to find the mop she was leaning on was hanging limp and she was careening towards the ground for real this time. Unfortunately for her there was nothing but the bucket to break her fall and break it it did, soaking her in dirty, soapy water which quickly spread across the wooden floor. Summer gasped at the same time as raucous laughter sounded nearby and she looked up mortified to find Junhoe standing half way between her and the door, his hands on his stomach. When he realised she was looking he tried to pull himself together, clearing his throat.

“Uh, are you okay?” he asked, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak, simply staring at him her eyes bulging as she blushed a shade she was sure resembled a beetroot. Junhoe waited another second before shrugging and turning on his heel. The movement kicked her into gear and Summer’s brow knitted together in anger.

“You know, it’s rude not to help someone in trouble.”

“It’s also rude not to respond when someone has a question,” he bit back, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer before he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Leaving Summer to pull herself out of the puddle soaking wet, she cursed out the idol as she picked up the mop and began to correct her mess.

That was the day she decided that she greatly disliked Koo Junhoe.


	2. One

“Don’t forget I expect the full translation submitted by midnight on Sunday. Have a good weekend.”

The relief that Summer felt at being dismissed was quickly trampled with the reminder of her assignment, but nevertheless she was glad to be packing up her laptop and wrapping her coat and scarf around her as she prepared to escape the building and step into the deep of winter. As she slipped into the hallway she was joined by her best friend Mei, who voiced the groan that had built up within her.

“Next time I don’t start a translation until two days before it’s due, shoot me,” the girl muttered and Summer couldn’t stop herself from letting out a snort, nudging the other gently with her elbow.

“Mei you’ve been saying that for the past three years. If you actually manage to do it before we graduate it’ll be a miracle,” Summer said, pushing open the door and shivering as the frigid air met any exposed flesh. The Japanese girl was just about to reply when Summer’s ringtone sounded from her pocket and she quickly dug into it, pulling out the phone and frowning when she saw her father’s name flashing across the screen. “Dad? Is everything alright?”

“Well, no one’s dead or injured,” the man on the other end started and immediately Summer’s stomach clenched, that definitely didn’t mean everything was alright. “Your mother and I have been having a discussion. Remember a month or two ago when we said you had to slow up on your spending?”

“Uh, yes?” Summer replied tentatively, causing Mei to look over at her curiously.

“Yes. Well we just got the latest statement and we’re disappointed to see you haven’t listened to us…” he trailed off, and she wondered whether he had planned this for dramatic effect. “Your mother disagreed with me at first, but we’ve come to the decision that we’re cutting off your allowance immediately. It’s time to take some responsibility and find yourself a job.”

“I… see. Uh, well thank you for letting me know. Was there um, anything else?” Summer asked, unsure of how to respond. But there was nothing except a few words of encouragement and a reminder that the last sum of money had only been transferred a week ago. Numbly she signed off and slowed to a halt, simply staring at the device in her hand.

“Is everything okay?” Mei asked softly, and Summer dragged her gaze away from the phone to meet her friend’s, shaking her head slightly.

“My parents just cut off my allowance,” she said and Mei let out a gasp. It seemed she was about to say something that was soaked in pity and Summer quickly shook her head again in warning. Instead the girl pursed her lips, slipping an arm under hers.

“This calls for a hot chocolate at our old haunt.”

“Mei… this is the kind of thing that got my allowance taken in the first place.”

“Yes, well this is needed and therefore it’s my shout. Now come on,” Mei insisted, not waiting for an answer before she picked up her pace and dragged Summer along behind her. The blonde knew there was no use trying to fight the girl on this one and resigned herself to being led to the cafe they visited almost every day.

__________________________________________________________

If anything, it was at least pleasant to step into the warmth of the cafe, Mei holding the door open for Summer as they entered, biting down on her lip softly before speaking. “On the positive side, at least your study and dorm are already paid for.”

“Won’t make much difference if I can’t afford to feed myself,” Summer mumbled and Mei rolled her eyes at the drama, before nudging the girl towards the tables and prancing to the line waiting to order. With a sigh Summer scanned the area, heading for one of the only tables free and shrugging her jacket off before slipping into the seat. Grabbing her phone she quickly logged into her bank account, calculating she would only have enough money left for a couple more weeks if she limited her spending to food and any necessary travel. Surely that would be long enough for her to find some crappy job somewhere. Maybe she’d end up being a gas station attendant, or at one of the tiny convenience shops that mostly consisted of ahjummas sitting out the front on buckets shredding cabbage for kimchi and gossiping about the neighbourhood.

“Frown upside down, pumpkin.” The voice snapped her out of her daydreaming and Summer looked up to see a familiar Korean woman taking a seat opposite her. She wished the smile she gave was a little less watery because Seoyeon was genuinely one of her favourite people she had met while in Seoul. They had met in this very cafe when the barista had handed Summer her drink without putting the lid on properly. As a result when she turned to leave it had popped off and coated both her and the person behind her in burning liquid. That person had been Seoyeon and instead of being angry or frustrated she had simply told her not to worry and cleaned them both up. She was another regular and so they had seen each other frequently, always exchanging words when they did so.

“Sorry unnie, I’ve had a bit of a bad day,” Summer apologised and the Korean frowned, leaning against the table and inquiring as to what was wrong. “I’m absolutely terrible at money management and now my parents have cut off my allowance. Now I’m going to have to find all my meals in dumpsters.”

Despite Summer being upset Seoyeon couldn’t help but chuckle, settling herself quickly and smiling at her softly instead. The smile grew knowing as an idea seem to form and Summer looked at the older woman curiously. “You know what Summer? I think I know of a job going. Let me check it out and I’ll get back to you tonight.”

With the offer Summer perked up, her eyes growing wide. “You would really do that for me?” she asked and the woman nodded, hearing her name called from behind the counter. With a quick farewell Seoyeon was striding across the cafe and Summer was feeling ever so slightly better.


	3. Two

Several days later Summer was standing gaping up at the YG Entertainment building, clutching at her bag. The evening of her encounter with Seoyeon in the cafe she had received a message from the woman, stating that an interview had been arranged for a night time cleaning job in the same company she worked for and stated a time and address. Summer had never known what Seoyeon did for a living, but now she learnt it was apparently working for one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. Swallowing thickly she made her way to the front doors, the wall of heat hitting her as she stepped in. Not entirely sure what she was supposed to do, she approached the front counter where a security guard was sat.

“Uh, excuse me? I have an interview with Min Heejin,” she said and the guy nodded, picking up the phone and tapping in a number. She waited patiently as he spoke to whoever was on the other end, informing them she was here. A moment later he hung up.

“Take a seat, she’ll be down soon.” Bowing in thanks Summer retreated, smoothing down her shirt as she moved to a row of seats and tried not to appear too nervous as she waited. For a public entrance there seemed to be a lot of coming and going of staff and whenever a door opened into the foyer she looked up expectantly. It was almost ten minutes however before a hunchbacked old lady walked in and called out Summer’s name. The girl jumped up and tried to ignore the way Heejin’s eyes swept over her judgingly, instead focusing on greeting the elder as she approached.

“Follow me,” the lady instructed and she did so obediently, shuffling along behind Heejin as she was led through a side door and up a set of stairs. Summer’s mind started to run ahead of her, imagining the room she would be taken into and wondering if she would pass by any of the idols on the way. The thought of that made her even more nervous and she took a deep breath to try and steady herself. It wouldn’t do her any favours to be so wound up she forgot how to speak Korean, especially considering how badly she needed the job.

The disappointment was enough to bring her back down as Heejin ushered her into an office barely bigger than the cleaning cupboard she imagined all the supplies were kept in. It was only big enough for a desk and a two drawer filing cabinet and when Summer took a seat her legs were pressed right up against the wood of the table backing. She offered the woman a smile, but didn’t get one back, simply another studying expression and one that this time seemed to hold some curiosity.

“When Seoyeon asked me to consider you for the cleaner’s position I was expecting something vastly different. For one you’re at least two decades younger than our youngest current employee. For another it’s rare to see a white person fluent in Korean. You do understand me right?” she paused giving Summer a moment to nod in response. “Well, what experience do you have?”

“Um, well none professionally. But I’m in charge of my dorm room, and I always did the housework for my parents back home,” Summer replied, beginning to wonder whether this was a waste of time. They were probably looking for someone who had held the best cleaning record consecutively in their last job and had a minimum of five years experience.

“What do you use to clean a mirror?”

“Glass cleaner and either newspaper or a fibre free cloth?” the foreigner answered, wishing her voice sounded more confident than she felt. But with the unexpected question she couldn’t help but give the answer in a tone that suggested she was waiting for a cane over her knuckles if it was wrong.

“The floors have been swept and mopped. What’s the last thing I do to them?”

“...wax them?” Summer visibly winced at herself that time, resisting the urge to cover her face with her hands and peek out at the lady from between her fingers. No reprimanding came, instead Heejin stayed silent, seeming to mull over the answers. It was getting to the point where Summer was about to reach for her bag and apologise for wasting the lady’s time when she finally spoke.

“I run a tight ship in this establishment. By the end of every shift I expect your assigned rooms to be no less than perfect. You will receive your hours by text message no later than five hours before your shift starts as they depend on the schedules of those who use the rooms and don’t expect me to be lenient if you have some big project due for your studies,” Heejin said and it took a few moments for the foreigner to realise she had been immediately offered the job. “Come, there is paperwork you need to fill out and background checks that need to be sent.”

Summer jumped to her feet immediately, trying to ignore the pain as she smacked her knee on the underside of the desk, using a deep bow of gratitude to cover up the screwing up of her face over it. Then they were back into the hallway and down into another room that seemed to mimic a staff room at a school. There were several tables grouped together, a couple of copy machines, and a wall of pigeon holes for the paper trails that refused to turn electronic. Heejin moved to one with her name stuck to it and pulled out a thick looking document, handing it to Summer.

“Those are the terms and conditions to your employment under YG and myself. Take it home and read over it and bring it back signed for your first shift. You’ll find the most important rule in there is to keep your mouth shut. Talk about what you see in this building and you’ll be out of the job quicker than you can say our CEO’s name with a fine bigger than what you earn in three months slapped to your back. Let me take all your details and you’ll receive notification when all documents are in order,” Heejin explained and Summer swallowed thickly as she thumbed through the pages briefly. As part of her language degree she had been made to translate legal documents before, but she idly wondered if this would give her any difficulty.

Nevertheless, it was a job and if she started within the next week then she wouldn’t have to run out of money at all, which sounded mighty pleasant to her. Once again she thanked her new boss, assuring the woman she would read it front to back and have everything signed, dated, and ready when she arrived back at the building.


	4. Three

At ten o’clock five days after her interview Summer had returned the paperwork and was ready and waiting for Heejin to start her first shift. It had happened as a kind of exchange, her documents for a uniform shirt which she had quickly changed into and returned to stand by the door to the office. When the lady had appeared she merely beckoned the youngster with a wave of her hand and Summer followed as Heejin led them up a further two floors and stopped by a cupboard next to the stairs.

“Each floor has it’s own supply cupboard. In it you will find everything you need,” she explained, pushing open the door and flicking on the light. Stepping inside Summer ran her gaze over everything. Bottles of numerous cleaning liquids were lined neatly across one shelf, cloths and sponges scattered around them. The other shelves held various supplies such as paper towel and toilet paper for the bathrooms. Then up against one wall stood multiple brooms, buckets and mops arranged by different colours and what Summer suspected was a waxing machine for the floors. By the door stood a trolley that was clearly meant to transport everything she needed.

“Read the labels and everything will be clear enough. The buckets and mops are specific to needs, don’t ever cross contaminate; yellow is for biohazards, red for anything potentially toxic, and blue is for general cleaning. If you’re unsure of anything ask, don’t just guess,” Heejin instructed and Summer nodded in compliance. “Alright then, load that trolley up with everything you think you need and I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Though Summer would never show it she was relatively pleased with herself for only forgetting one item and followed Heejin out of the room and down to the first door. Behind it lay an abandoned practice room and the pair pulled up just inside. Heejin gave a smile, the first one Summer had seen and she guessed why. The room appeared chaotic; messy, but also orderly at the same time. Everywhere her eyes moved there was something to put or throw away.

“Any rubbish is to be put in the bin, and even though they’ll have to drag everything else back out when they return you’ll have to move everything aside to clean the floors. They are to be swept and mopped, and once a week the floors are to be waxed. The mirrors also need to be cleaned, anything that needs to be dusted is dusted, and bins emptied,” Heejin explained and Summer once again nodded to show she had understood everything. “Good, now leave the trolley here and I’ll show you what else you’re in charge of.”

The boss showed her to two more practice rooms, plus a pair of bathrooms to stock and maintain, and was finally instructed to clean and mop the hallways once all the idols had returned to their practice rooms. Then she was left to her own devices, returning to the first room and moving to pick up the numerous chip packets and drink bottles lying discarded around the edges of it. The entire time she couldn’t help but wonder who’s practice room this was, hoping that she would come across something that would give it away. She could be standing in the very room Big Bang or 2NE1 practiced their forever famous dances. Or perhaps it was one of the newer groups; Winner or iKON. But just maybe it only belonged to one of the numerous trainees who were hoping to one day debut.

Trying not to grow too distracted she cleaned as quickly as she could while still doing a good job, remembering Heejin’s words that the dinner break for the users of the rooms was only an hour and she had to at least get the practice spaces cleaned before they returned. Today she knew she was pushing it as her boss had spent a good ten minutes on the instructions. Then again, if she managed it then it would give her a good idea of the pace she needed to work at from then onwards. It was just approaching the half an hour mark when she finished up on the first room, quickly collecting the gear and moving onto the next one. It was in this room that she made the first discovery as to whose space she was in as she bent to pick up an empty water bottle, finding the name Yunhyeong scrawled onto the side in marker. With a broad grin she reached for another one, finding Hanbin on it. She was in iKON’s practice room.

For a moment she wondered how much a fan would pay for a used water bottle, before she shook her head, chiding herself for even thinking about it. That was sure to break one of the hundred clauses that she had signed her soul to on her contract. But would anyone notice if she took Bobby’s for herself? The image of the boy floated into her mind and she speculated whether she would see them or any of the other YG idols very often. Yes she was to clean the rooms when they were absent, but surely they were to cross paths as they returned from breaks and she waited for the hallway to be free. As she swept and mopped the floors she wondered whether Heejin would get mad at her for hanging around the corridors if she finished the rooms in time. 

Taking a duster to the equipment that lined the walls Summer reached a pile of discarded objects that teetered on a tower of boxes. On closer inspection she discovered it to be a hoard of clothing items and shoes and she tutted softly, deciding to move them before the whole thing toppled over and either created a mess in the space she had just cleaned, or landed on someone. Plucking a singlet off the top she paused with it hanging in the air, pinched between her fingers. Whose was this? Bobby’s? B.I’s? Someone else’s all together. Licking her lips she gingerly held it up to her nose, inhaling deeply. A mixed scent of body spray and sweat met her nostrils and she imagined what it would be like to hug the boy while in it. The sound of the door opening snapped her out of it and she quickly dropped her arm to find Heejin standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing with that?” she asked accusingly and Summer wondered how much she had seen. Quickly folding it she placed it on the bench next to her with hands shaking from adrenaline.

“I’m just cleaning it up. It’s all piled here like an accident waiting to happen,” she babbled back and the elder narrowed her eyes, before looking around the room.

“Are you done?”

“Almost, I just have to give the mirror a quick once over,” Summer answered and Heejin nodded after a moment, reaching to grab one of the bottles and cloths from the trolley.

“You have ten minutes until dinner is over. Normally I wouldn’t do this, but seeing as I spent some of the time explaining things to you I’ll get started on the last room so it can be done in time,” the woman said and with that she disappeared out the door. Letting out a relieved sigh Summer made quick work with the rest of the pile, folding everything as quickly as possible and placing the shoes under the bench. Then she turned her attention to the mirror, promising herself that she would stop getting so distracted, determined to prove to Heejin that hiring her had been the right decision.


	5. Four

Several weeks passed and soon enough Summer found herself settling into her new routine. She worked at YG four nights a week on Friday through to Monday; with at least one group promoting at a time it meant that over the weekends one practice room was usually free for a longer period, making the time restraint a little easier on the cleaners. The girl spent her days either at university or catching up on assignments, finding that on the nights she worked she was able to clip her recording device around her neck and work on her verbal translation homework as she cleaned. It helped greatly, even if she found herself exhausted on a constant basis from the downgrade in hours spent sleeping.

Heejin was also yet to pull her up on her quickly formed habit of loitering in the hall to await the return of the idols who practiced on her floor. She had discovered that as well as iKON, the other rooms she cleaned belonged to Winner and Akdong Musician. She stood patiently out of the way as they all filtered back in, receiving the odd nod of acknowledgement from them, but so far it was only Chanhyuk and Suhyun of Akdong that she had exchanged words with.

That night in iKON’s room Summer sighed as she ran the cloth over the mirror again and again in circular motions that made the muscles in her arm scream. Someone had been smudging the mirror up again and how they had reached the top she couldn’t understand. Just to clean it she had had to pull out a step ladder, moving slowly along the wall length expanse, reaching as far as she could either direction before shuffling over. She was currently towards the very end and was eager to finish it all off when the sound of the door opening and movement caught her attention. Glancing over her shoulder she saw it was Bobby who had entered the room and was smiling brightly as he spotted her.

“Ah, noona there you are; I was looking for you everywhere. I know it might seem a little out of the blue, but I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some food when you’re finished?” he asked and Summer thought her heart might beat right out of her chest. Was he really asking her to go and eat with him? Blushing lightly she nodded, turning to face the mirror again. It was the last thing she had to do and she was now determined to get it over with as fast as possible. Lifting the spray bottle she squeezed the trigger and began to clean, leaning over further and further in a refusal to move the ladder. She just had to reach the top corner, just a little bit more… she let out a squeak as she felt the contraption slip out from under her and she was falling, falling into someone’s arms.

Looking up she found Bobby there, having caught her in a movie like moment. She smiled up at him, breathing her thanks and he grinned back at her. Then they were frozen, staring into each other’s eyes and closing the gap inch by inch. He was just about to press his lips against her when she felt a jolt…

The squeak was louder when Summer returned to reality to find the mop she was leaning on was hanging limp and she was careening towards the ground for real this time. Unfortunately for her there was nothing but the bucket to break her fall and break it it did, soaking her in dirty, soapy water which quickly spread across the wooden floor. Summer gasped at the same time as raucous laughter sounded nearby and she looked up mortified to find Junhoe standing half way between her and the door, his hands on his stomach. When he realised she was looking he tried to pull himself together, clearing his throat.

“Uh, are you okay?” he asked, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak, simply staring at him her eyes bulging as she blushed a shade she was sure resembled a beetroot. Junhoe waited another second before shrugging and turning on his heel. The movement kicked her into gear and Summer’s brow knitted together in anger.

“You know, it’s rude not to help someone in trouble.”

“It’s also rude not to respond when someone has a question,” he bit back, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer before he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Leaving Summer to pull herself out of the puddle soaking wet, she cursed out the idol as she picked up the mop and began to correct her mess. Who did he think he was to laugh at her and just walk out, leaving her sprawled across the floor in the middle of a puddle? Sure she was aware of the sassy attitude the boy showed to the camera, but this was just plain rude. The boy clearly possessed a head inflated by the newly garnered popularity the group had received with their debut and she didn’t like it one bit.

Her cursing soon turned to herself though as she truly acknowledged the happenings. When she wasn’t working on her university stuff she had taken to daydreaming about fantasy run ins with Bobby, who she wasn’t about to deny was her idol crush. It was surreal in many ways that she had found herself working for the company, yet not how she had thought about in any of her previous fantasies. There were times in particularly boring lessons that she had found herself daydreaming about the idea of graduating and getting a job as a translator for the company and meeting him that way. Instead she was merely cleaning up after him without so much as exchanging pleasantries. And now she found her mind once again running away with itself and here she was, soaked and embarrassed.

The door to the practice room swung open once more and she opened her mouth ready to retort should it be Junhoe returning to exchange more insults. Instead it was the topic of her daydreams himself, whose eyes went wide as they landed on her.

“Oh my god are you okay?” he asked, having slipped into English immediately with her foreign appearance. Summer could do nothing but let out a strangled grunt in response and she screamed at herself inside. Two iKON members in a row now had left her immediately speechless. “What happened?”

“I uh, tripped. Into the bucket,” she admittedly sheepishly, focusing on the shrinking puddle as she blushed for the second time in as many minutes. Bobby was making a series of sounds under his breath and in that moment Summer wished the ground would just open up and swallow her.

“Here, let me help,” he offered, moving to reach for the mop and she snatched it to her, her head shooting up to look at him.

“I’m fine!” she snapped, immediately regretting the tone her voice had taken as he looked taken aback. Letting out a sigh, the girl reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just… embarrassed as hell, mortified, take your pick. And pissed, it hasn’t been a great day. I just… thank you, but I’m fine to clean up. It’s my job after all.”

Bobby seemed to contemplate her words for a moment before he nodded, offering her a smile. Then he moved towards the bench where she had previously piled all their scattered belongings and pulled out a shirt, striding back over to her and holding it out. “Please, at least take this so you’re not walking around as wet and catch a cold.”

Summer could barely mutter her thanks as she took it from him, emotions suddenly welling up inside of her and she once again became terrified of the possibility that she would now cry in front of him on top of everything. Turning her head away she took a deep breath, clearing her throat. “Right, I should finish up in here and go change. Thanks again and was there anything I could help you with?”

“Oh, yeah. I was looking for Junhoe, have you seen him round?” the boy asked and Summer pursed her lips, immediately shaking her head. After all, she technically hadn’t in about ten minutes and the last thing she needed Bobby to know in that moment was that Junhoe had seen her accident as well. Though she was sure it would probably be the first thing out of his mouth when the group reassembled. “Ah, well thanks anyway. I hope your night improves.”

With that Bobby disappeared from the room, leaving Summer alone once more and what she hoped was for good.


	6. Five

It seemed like the current week was full of a higher power’s efforts to try and unseat Summer. The next night she had returned to the YG building determined for everything to go smoothly and no other accidents to happen. She vowed there would be no more fantasizing, no matter how tempting it could be. She would merely power through all the rooms and then retreat to clean the women’s bathroom in order to hide from Junhoe and Bobby. But as she pulled the trolley out of the cupboard she was approached by Suhyun, who took her aside and informed her that the ladies toilet needed replenishing, which immediately dashed her ideal scenario.

Instead she attended to the bathroom first before focusing on the rooms, at least determined to get them done as quickly as possible and out of there. The iKON boys had left a mess and she was particularly annoyed by the small pile of empty food packets that was left in a corner, a post-it note with a smiley face stuck to the top of it. She had half a mind to return the favour to Junhoe - who she suspected was the culprit - somehow, though couldn’t think how in that moment, instead calling him a series of names that would shock most people as she collected it all and tossed it into the bin. 

As she scrubbed down the rest of the room she was aware of the fact that the translations she spoke into her recorder sounded considerably angry for being a transcript of an interview at an international relations meeting. If asked she would make up some excuse for being passionate about trade with America. She was halfway through a sentence when the sound of her phone rang out from her pocket and she immediately paused the device, knowing she would have to re-record that segment. She was also glad that it hadn’t gone off in Heejin’s presence as she had clearly forgotten to put it on silent as usual. Some of her bad mood slipped away when she saw the message from Mei, though she did feel guilty that she couldn’t spend as much time with her friend as she used to.

You, me, pizza once you’ve finished at work.

Deal, I’ll pick it up on the way home. Extra cheesy? And what about setting a theme and having some Cheese in a Trap to go along with it?

You read my mind. You and I are soulmates, the way we finish each other’s…

Sandwiches.

Summer had just hit send when the sounds of voices drifted from down the hall and she let out a gasp when she realised that time was up. She was just thankful she had managed everything except sorting out their haphazard belongings as usual. And of course adding the finishing touch for that night - returning Bobby’s shirt to the pile. She had washed it that morning and folded it in her bag to bring with her. It was now perched on the edge of the trolley and Summer blindly placed her phone down, quickly scuttling over to grab the clothing. 

She was halfway in her retreat to the bench when the door opened and she quickened her pace, all but tossing the shirt down and spinning around. All seven of the boys noticed her presence, though all but Junhoe and Bobby seemed unaltered. As she skirted around them she caught Bobby’s eye, bowing her head in what she hoped would convey her thank you for the shirt. When she raised it again she met with Junhoe whose gaze was narrowed at her suspiciously, though she couldn’t work out what she had done this time. Had he caught her returning Bobby’s shirt? Tearing her eyes away, Summer reached for the familiar weight of the trolley, pushing it out of the room.

The girl was halfway down the hall when she realised she had left her phone on the bench and with a sharp inhale she spun around and ran back to the room. Why did she have to go and keep embarrassing herself in front of iKON? Soon enough she would become a nuisance and surely they would tell someone and get her fired. She wasn’t sure why she thought sneaking in was the way to go - perhaps she had high hopes that she could creep in and out without being noticed. Unfortunately as soon as she opened the door seven heads turned her way and she bit down on her lip nervously.

“Um, I left my phone on the bench,” she muttered, her eyes growing wide when she looked over to see Junhoe and Jinhwan sitting either side of roughly where she remembered dropping it. Sure enough the eldest boy held up the device, looking at her questioningly. Scratching at the side of her head nervously she gave him a nod, shuffling across the room and holding out her hand. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” the boy beamed and she felt herself relax a little, hopeful that he wasn’t annoyed with her after all. That quickly gave way when Junhoe snorted from next to Jinhwan, rolling his eyes at her. 

“You should keep better track of your belongings,” he sniped and she placed her hands on her hips, brows knitting together as she glared at him. 

“Says the one who washed his phone with soap and water.” Summer knew the statement would give away her fan status, but in her mind it was too good to pass up. It seemed to work as Jinhwan let out a giggle and Junhoe’s gaze grew darker. With that she flashed him a smile, before slipping her phone into her pocket and striding away.

As she left the room Summer felt a little better about herself. Finally she had managed to do something other than stand there gaping at them like some kind of deformed fish. And not only that, but she had managed to return the favour to Junhoe; perhaps now he would no longer see her as some pathetic clutz who couldn’t string a sentence together, but someone who could hopefully give as good as she got. Maybe there was even the chance that he would apologise to her the next time she saw him and treat her with a little bit more respect. Pulling her phone out as she heard it buzz once more, she opened the message from Mei, tapping out a reply almost blindly as she continued down towards the bathrooms.

I should be done in half an hour. I have a story for you.


	7. Six

“I can’t believe how rude June is, I mean he still comes across as a nice guy on camera,” Mei frowned, a slice of pizza dangling perilously in front of her mouth. Summer waited for a moment, sure all the toppings were about to fall into the girl’s lap, but Mei scooped it into her mouth last minute.

“Of course he has to look nice on camera, otherwise no one would like him and there’d be no point to him being an idol.”

“True. I’m glad you finally stood up to him though. He’s just lucky I wasn’t there otherwise I would have given him a piece or two of my mind,” Mei stated as she swallowed her mouthful, waving the rest of the slice in the air as she did so. Summer snorted, taking a bite of her own and hoping that she wouldn’t end up choking.

“Let’s face it, you would have given him your entire mind, not just a piece of it.” The Japanese girl merely shrugged at the words, knowing it was probably true. She had a temper on her that often made Summer cringe and sometimes fearful. More than once she had either had to hold Mei back, or run away as the girl released her fury on what or whoever had ignited her anger.

“Also why did you have to go and return Bobby’s shirt?”

“Um, because it belonged to him?”

“Should’ve just kept it anyway. Or at least traded it out for Hanbin’s and then given it to me,” Mei pouted and this time Summer did choke, thumping on her chest to try and clear her airways. When she had finally succeeded she placed what was left of her pizza back in the box, wiping her mouth and glaring only half jokingly at her friend.

“First of all, I have no idea which one is his. Secondly, I’m about ninety-nine percent sure that would get me fired,” she pointed out and once again Mei shrugged, muttering something about Summer never taking chances. She could only roll her eyes, reaching for a wet wipe in an attempt to degrease her hands. Then she tucked her feet up underneath her, leaning further onto the bed. “If you’re lucky I’ll bring you his water bottle, then you can clone him or whatever creepy thing it is you’d want to do. Now let’s start this drama, because as much as I love you I love sleep just a little bit more and I would like to get some tonight.”

With a grumble and some face pulling, Mei pulled the pizza closer to her and reached for the remote, pressing play and allowing the opening scenes of the drama to light up the laptop screen.

 

The last thing Summer wanted to do when her alarm went off the next morning was to drag herself out of bed and head to university, especially with the layer of snow that had fallen overnight. She celebrated making it through all her classes without falling asleep by agreeing to meet Seoyeon at the cafe afterwards and ordering the biggest coffee she could manage without risking a heart attack. After a minor argument via text Summer had convinced the woman to let her purchase the drinks as the start of her repayment for getting her a job. And so she found herself cradling her mug between her hands, trying to limit the amount of sips she took so that she didn’t finish the drink before Seoyeon arrived. Soon enough the door of the cafe swung open and Summer perked up when she saw the Korean, who immediately weaved her way over.

“Ah Summer-doll, I can’t believe it!” Seoyeon twittered as she sunk down into the seat opposite the foreigner, unwrapping the scarf that was draped around her neck. “I almost regret getting you that job, I feel like I never see you anymore.”

“What can I say? I miss sleep, but I enjoy having money. It’s funny, I never really realised how satisfying it was to spend the money you know you earnt yourself,” Summer mused, finally taking a bigger mouthful of her coffee now that her friend was here.

“Well I’m happy for you. How are you finding it anyway? Heejin isn’t too bad is she? I know she can be quite strict.”

“She’s creative in her criticism, I have to give her that. And she keeps calling me Yureum instead of Summer, but I don’t dare correct her,” Summer started, fidgeting in her seat as she debated how exactly to word her next statement. “I like her in a weird way, she cares about her job and the image she leaves behind. But in all honesty, my biggest problem is June from iKON.”

Seoyeon looked surprised with her confession and a moment later the woman’s brows knitted together. “What do you mean? Like, a difficult kind of problem, or the kind of problem that involves waking up with your cheeks burning?”

“Ew, no. Definitely the first. He’s rude and completely obnoxious and keeps making my job twice as hard by leaving messes everywhere on purpose. He even has the nerve to tape sticky notes to them,” she explained, her grip on the cup tightening as she felt the anger already rising inside her. Seoyeon’s surprise seemed to double at the news, then it slowly melded into a look of curiosity instead.

“That’s strange. I know Junhoe can be a little brash sometimes, but I would never say he’s been rude. Are you sure you’re not just misjudging him? Yah, Summer-doll, you weren’t rude to him first, were you?”

“No! When have I ever been rude unnie? He was the one that just walked out on me when I fell into a puddle,” Summer pouted and Seoyeon let out a gasp of laughter, quickly taking a mouthful of her drink to cover it up.

“Yeah, he may have mentioned that incident…” she said softly and it was Summer’s turn to look at the other curiously. “He asked me about you, you know. That’s why I thought it was strange.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Deadly serious. I asked whether they had seen you much and if they were treating you nicely and he asked if you were always so clumsy. Of course I had no idea what he was talking about and then he told me you tripped over a bucket. He left out the part where he didn’t help you.”

Summer let out a groan with the story, moving to cover her face with her hands. She could just imagine Junhoe’s smug grin as he relayed the story to Seoyeon, probably relishing in the description of how pathetic she looked. “Of course he didn’t, he would never paint himself in a bad light, he’s god’s gift on earth.”

“He’s not that bad Summer, give him a chance. It was probably just a misunderstanding, I know his words can sometimes be taken the wrong way if you don’t know him.”

“Well I find him insufferable, I’m sure he has more than enough fans to make up for me,” Summer grumbled and Seoyeon raised her hands as she conceded defeat. With a small smile the foreigner guided the conversation onto a brighter topic, refusing to let the precious time spent with her friend turn sour. Koo Junhoe was her problem to deal with.


	8. Seven

Summer’s eyes squinted in concentration as she read the block of text that took up two of the six pages she held in her hand and she was surprised to find the other one was still managing to move along the mirror in circular motions. Friday had come along and she longed for a weekend where her job was the only thing she had to worry about, but there would be no chance of that now with upcoming holidays being overshadowed. 

That day her class had received notification of where they were allocated for work placement and Summer had been handed the details of a company that dealt with pamphlets highlighting a guided tour of historic Seoul. The placement wouldn’t start for several weeks and stretch over the winter break, but she was already dreading it. It meant that once her regular university work was done, she would spend two days a week at the company, helping them to redesign everything and conduct tours, as well as work at YG.

She was far too engrossed in reading about the Amsa-Dong Prehistoric Settlement to look up when the door opened, realising too late that even if it was Heejin - which would have made sense given she still had fifteen minutes left - she was sure to receive a chiding for not concentrating on her work. The voice that appeared from behind her was even worse though. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Lowering the paper slowly she turned around to face Junhoe, trying to rearrange her expression into something at least half pleasant for show. “Cool, I love a good game of hide and seek. I’ll count to a hundred while you go hide.”

“Funny. I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” he announced and this caught her attention. Immediately she grew apprehensive, wondering what it could possibly be about. He stood across the room from her, his sullen gaze studying her carefully and she tried to stop herself from fidgeting nervously. “Are you a ssaesang fan? How did you weasel your way in here?”

“What? Are you kidding me?” she scoffed, actually letting out a laugh at the situation. For a second Summer had honestly thought he was going to bring up something serious. This however, was just ridiculous.

“You realise you’ll be in huge trouble if you break that contract I know all the staff have to sign. I know you’re one of Jiwon’s stalkers.”

“Oh yeah? And how did you possibly come up with that?” she quizzed, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for his answer. Junhoe’s chin stabbed the air with the words and he strode over to the bench where her phone was sitting, pressing a button and holding it up to show a screen adorned with a picture of the shirtless idol. Instead of being embarrassed or ashamed Summer’s anger only grew and she marched towards the boy. “Excuse me. That is my property, let go of it. And how did you know what my background was anyway?”

As she closed in on him he only raised the phone higher, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “I saw it the other night when you left it in here. What about his shirt? I know you were trying to steal it. So answer the question, are you a ssaesang?”

“What kind of a person would admit to that? Even a ssaesang would deny being one,” Summer pointed out, dropping the cloth she held and reaching up on her tiptoes to snatch her phone back from the boy. “And I wasn’t trying to steal it you pabo, I was returning it. He leant it to me because unlike your rude self he actually helped me when I was standing in the middle of the room dripping an entire lake onto the floor.”

This seemed to get him and Junhoe simply stood there silently, the anger clearly boiling up within him - though Summer presumed it was directed at himself this time. She chose to ignore it, shoving her phone into her pocket and bending down to pick up the cloth from the floor instead. Then moving back to the mirror she continued from where she left off, rubbing away the numerous smudges that had appeared throughout the day.

“Yeah? Well what about Donghyuk’s hoodie then? Care to explain that one?” he pushed and the girl paused in her work, glancing at him through the mirror. If it wasn’t such a stupid situation she probably would have laughed at the way a vein in his neck was bulging. Instead she threw him a puzzled look.

“I honestly have no idea. The only time I touch your clothes is when they’re in the way and then I fold them and put them on the bench there.”

“You know, all it would take is me reporting you and you would be out of here,” Junhoe said and she spun around once more, her eyes widening with the threat. “So you may as well just admit it.”

“I am not a ssaesang fan,” she retorted through clenched teeth, torn between the urge to throttle the boy and knowing she was walking on cracking egg shells. “I swear. Please don’t report lies to your superior, I really need this job. Do you really think I choose to work and attend university full time? I mean hell, if I was really one of your psychotic fans I wouldn’t be doing either, I’d be skipping class to go break into your dorm room or something.”

Summer hoped that this logic would be enough for Junhoe to see reason. It seemed to do the trick, at least enough for him to stop accusing her. His eyes still stayed narrowed at her however and the next moment he pointed a finger at her.

“Fine, but I’ll be watching you cleaning girl,” he warned, turning on his heel and marching over to the door. Summer let out a huff at his words, scrunching the cloth up in her hand.

“Would it kill you to stop being so rude? And I have a name you know, it’s Summer!” she called out to him, but the only reply she received was the slamming of the door.


	9. Eight

“Shouldn’t that be ‘in terms of of production’?” Mei questioned as she peeked at Summer’s notebook and the girl looked up at her.

“That’s what I put.”

“No, you put teams, see?” the Japanese girl pointed out, her finger jabbing at the piece of paper and Summer let out a groan, her head flopping down to meet the desk with a smack loud enough to make her friend wince.

“I’m too tired for this, I wish I was napping right now,” she moaned and Mei let out a sigh, lifting the other’s head gently to pull the notebook out and close it.

“This translation’s only going to be slaughtered if you keep pushing yourself right now. Let’s call it a day and maybe you can fit that nap in before you start work.” The suggestion sounded good to Summer, even if she would be behind in her work for doing so. She had given herself the day off university work yesterday and spent most of the day in bed, but she still felt as if she’d never slept.

Setting herself into motion, the pair of them snapped shut the books they had spread over a table in the library, sorting them into stacks for both of them to carry. Slipping her coat and scarf on, her bag was the last thing Summer collected, allowing Mei to lead the way out of the building and into the frosty air. Despite having been awake for too many hours already the girl was half asleep still and didn’t notice her friend had stopped until she had smacked into the back of her.

“Jesus Mei, what the -”

“There’s something going on at the concert hall,” Mei cut her off and for the first time Summer took note of her surroundings, noticing the groups of students heading towards the campus concert hall, all looking rather excited. Summer threw a questioning glance at her friend, who shrugged, before grabbing the coat of a passing girl. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“A surprise idol visit,” the student answered with a glare, before unhooking herself from Mei’s grip and running off.

“Wanna check out who it is?” Mei suggested and Summer shrugged. Despite her tiredness she was curious, and who knows, it could be Super Junior or Mamamoo. Despite working for YG she was too low down in the system to reap any benefits and in her eyes a free concert was a free concert. 

Once again she let Mei take the lead and soon enough they were slipping into the hall. Already the room was filling up, and as more followed behind them the pair filed into the middle row. They had only been seated a few moments before a figure appeared on stage and the babble that had filled the hall fell away. Summer perked up slightly from where she had been slumped in her chair, waiting for the announcement.

“Students of Hanyang University, do we have a treat for you today! Ah, look at all your faces, those are expressions of ones that study hard. So we thought we would give you a gift to help you relax. We don’t have much time, so I will let the boys onto introduce themselves. Ladies and gentlemen, fresh from YG Entertainment, I present to you, iKON!”

The room erupted into cheers as the guy slunk away to be replaced by seven other figures and Summer and Mei exchanged glances. Instantly Summer wished they had bothered to at least find out who it was, knowing without a doubt that she would much rather be back at the dorms, falling into bed. It was too late to sneak out now, as the boys were taking turns to introduce themselves and she resigned herself to the show just as Junhoe was stepping forward.

“Hello everyone, I’m June and I’m in charge of sexy vocals,” he said with a wink aimed at the crowd and the blonde made a gagging sound, just as Mei leaned over to talk.

“He looks taller in person.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” she replied, her voice deadpan. For all of her dislike of Junhoe however, as they kicked off into a rendition of Airplane Summer found herself falling into their performance. She had been a fan before she started working for the company, Bobby having caught her eye with their debut. There was no doubt all seven of them knew how to put on the perfect performance, and now Summer also knew just how much work they put into it all. In fact she had become so enthralled and happy for the other members that as they said their farewells she found herself on her feet with everyone else, clapping and cheering.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad, now was it?” Mei teased lightly as the lights came back on and the crowd began to move. Rising to their feet the girls waited for those around them to start shuffling out, slowly making their way to the doors. Once outside they paused, shifting every now and then as people moved about them. “I know we do see them live occasionally and online, but they are really talented.”

“I know, I’m still a fan,” Summer murmured, watching a group of girls nearby craning their necks around the corner of the hall and Mei let out a sigh.

“Just not of one guy.” The foreigner was saved from replying as the girls let out loud squeals and a moment later iKON rounded the bend, with a small escort of staff members in tow. Summer tried to urge Mei on so they didn’t get caught up in everything, but the sound of her name being called stopped her. 

Looking over she found Seoyeon standing there, grinning and waving brightly and her shoulders sagged as the tension seemed to leave her. How could she deny her friend looking so happy? Inclining her head Summer instead led Mei towards the idol group, several members of the crowd turning to stare as she approached. “Ah Summer, I never thought to ask what university you attended. I should have messaged you to find out.”

“Surprise visits from my favourite unnie are much better,” she replied as she enveloped the woman in her arms, stepping back for Seoyeon and Mei to greet each other as well. As she did so she stuffed her hands into her coat pockets, watching as the boys took photos with the other students. It was another few moments of conversation between the girls before the idols pulled themselves away with the help of the other staff members and moved towards them instead. Jinhwan looked at her curiously for a second or two, before his eyes grew wide and a bright smile broke onto his face.

“Ah! It’s the cleaning noona; Summer isn’t it? I didn’t recognise you in casual clothes,” he greeted and she nodded, returning his smile as the others crowded around, all dipping their heads except Junhoe who looked as if he had just sucked on a lemon. “Whoa, I didn’t know you studied as well. You must be just as busy as us. Ah, now I feel bad for leaving the room so messy.”

With the sincerity of his comments Summer fought the urge to reach out and bundle the boy into a tight hug, instead opening her mouth to tell him not to worry too much when Junhoe spoke up. “I don’t.”

“Yah, Junhoe! Do you want to die?” Hanbin threatened with the comment and Summer had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from breaking into a grin. Then she decided she may as well, making sure it came across as smug as she aimed it at Junhoe. He rolled his eyes, muttering something about going to the car before walking off. The leader clicked his tongue, but turned back to both girls. “We should get going as well. Have a good day.”

With a series of farewells the idols headed off towards the waiting cars, the fans that were left calling after them.


	10. Nine

Summer turned to farewell Seoyeon, feeling the woman’s arm slip through hers before she had even started to form words. The look she was giving her and Mei made her feel that they were about to be dragged into something she wouldn’t look forward to.

“You know, it’s fortuitous that you two were here. Please tell me you have nothing important on right now?” Seoyeon questioned and the other two glanced at each other before shaking their heads. Summer wished she could call sleep more important than the Korean, but somehow she didn’t think that would go over well. “Good, because I’m on a coffee run and and twelve drinks is way too much for one person to carry.”

“Yeah, fortuitous indeed,” Summer remarked, before letting out a sigh and nudging Seoyeon on. “Although you owe me a large one as well, I’ll miss out on a nap now.”

“I’ll buy you a muffin as well in payment,” the Korean promised and the blonde accepted the deal with more enthusiasm then she may have felt. Mei and Summer followed the woman towards the last car, finding that they would be sharing with the other staff members. With several greetings and introductions they were all settled and on their way out of the campus and across Seoul. Summer watched out the window as the city passed by, until she felt Mei squeeze her hand and glanced over to the girl.

“How many people from our course do you think were at that concert? Reckon we’ll be mini idols ourselves tomorrow?” she questioned, her voice coming out in a whisper and Summer frowned, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

“I hope not,” she replied. She could only imagine what people would do or say if they found out she worked part-time at YG studios and had a friend in the industry. Hopefully none of them were around to see her and Mei disappear into the car of iKON’s staff, or be approached by the boys for that matter. They were a couple of blocks away from the studio building when the driver pulled over and Summer, Mei, and Seoyeon clambered out. They were standing in front of a busy cafe and the foreigner turned to the Korean. “You come all the way to our cafe when you have this here?”

“Have you looked at how busy it is? I live over that way, besides, I see you going to our cafe instead of the ones on your campus,” Seoyeon pointed out and the girl had to concede defeat as she led the way inside. Her and Mei shuffled over to the side as they let Seoyeon place the orders before falling into idle chatter as the three of them waited for the drinks to be made. Soon enough their order was called and all of them moved forward to take one of the trays they had been placed in. Then it was back out into the winter air to walk the last leg back to the YG building. 

It was when they reached the staff entrance and keyed open the door that Seoyeon and Summer turned to Mei, the foreigner looking regretful as Seoyeon held out a hand. “Thank you so much Mei, but unfortunately you can’t come in here without visitor clearance.”

“That’s fine, I knew as much. Summer, try not to sleep too much while you kill time and work on your translation. And no more incorrect words,” Mei chided jokingly as she passed the coffee tray over to Seoyeon and pulled Summer into a hug. Then Mei was walking off and the two YG staff members were slipping through the door. 

“We’ll drop the first tray off to my co-workers before taking the rest up to the boys,” Seoyeon informed and Summer nodded in acknowledgement. The elder led the way onto a floor Summer had never set foot on, delivering the coffee to the other four, thankful staff members that had attended the university, before returning to the floor that housed iKON. The boys were yet to get back into practice, random music filtering around the room as they sat in a circle on the floor, presumably discussing the events of the day. With the sight of the girls they all got to their feet, rushing over. 

“Ah noonas, thank you!”

“This will keep me going till at least nine.”

“Who the heck ordered a dirty chai? It sounds like a sex move.” The last voice belonged to Junhoe and Summer rolled her eyes, moving to pluck the drink out of its socket.

“That would be me, and it’s chai with coffee in it,” she said, and was surprised to find the boy actually looked embarrassed, a pink colour slowly travelling up his neck. She actually had to take a mouthful of her drink to stop herself from either blurting out something else, or joining in with the other boys who had started to laugh. Snatching up what was obviously his own coffee Junhoe stalked away towards the other end of the practice room and Summer tried to stop herself from cheering at managing another win against the boy.

“Summer, that was almost cruel,” Seoyeon whispered as she picked up the last drink, passing it to the girl so she could fold up all the trays ready for the bin. Summer was tempted to say he deserved it, but decided instead to simply shrug her shoulders before narrowing her eyes at Seoyeon.

“You better put that in the bin, I have to clean that up later,” she warned and Seoyeon let out a dramatic sigh, waltzing over to the bin and dropping them in. When she returned Summer handed over the coffee, looking at the older woman expectantly. “Now, how do you plan to entertain me until I start work at ten?”

 

Summer had only been half joking when she asked the Korean woman for entertainment. As much as she didn’t want to she knew that she had to do her university work, and so once their coffees had disappeared and she supervised the boys throwing their cups in the bin - Junhoe she watched especially closely - she moved out into the hallway. Settling herself into a corner out of the way she pulled out her books, making a small semi-circle around herself. Then, she forced herself into concentrating on her work. She was almost finished when the sound of her name pulled her back and she looked up to find Hanbin with his head sticking out of the door.

“Oh good, you didn’t wander off. Did you want to do me a favour and come watch our practice?” he asked and Summer stared up at him in mild confusion as she tried to decipher whether what she heard was actually what he said.

“You want me to watch? You do realise I know nothing about dancing right?” she double-checked and he nodded, beckoning her over with his hand.

“That doesn’t matter, I just need a fresh opinion.”

Somewhat uncertainly Summer rose to her feet, collecting everything in her arms and shuffling towards him. As she grew closer he opened the door further for her, allowing her to slip in before he closed it behind her. Then he indicated for her to take a seat up the front of the room with the mirrors, and she did as bidden, sinking down onto the floor and placing her belongings at her side. By the time she had, Hanbin was standing by the player, drawing the attention of the members to him.

“Right, now you have an audience. So we’re all going to work hard, aren’t we?” he prompted and Summer bit down on her lip, realising what the boy was trying to do. Crossing her legs she settled in, pressing her back up against the mirror and Hanbin hit the play button, quickly scurrying into place. Throughout the song she tried not to think about the fact that she was currently watching something no one outside the company - and probably most inside it - had seen. When it was over the boys stood still, trying to catch their breath, Hanbin focusing on her. “Well?”

“It was… good.”

“Good?! That’s all that comes to mind? Ah man,” Bobby cried and she quickly waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head vigorously.

“No, no. I didn’t mean it badly. I have no idea about dancing, I just don’t know what to say,” she assured him and he raised the cap from his head, running his free hand through his hair in frustration.

“Were we at least in time?” he asked and she nodded more solemnly now. Hanbin announced it somewhat of an improvement and with the orders to run through it once more Summer was released.


	11. Ten

Jinhwan seemed to make good of his promise to keep things a bit cleaner and the other boys fell into line behind him, Summer finding less rubbish spread around the room from that day on. Although it was evident to her that Junhoe was trying to cause more trouble for her still. She had walked into the practice room the next night as the boys were leaving to spy Junhoe dropping a wrapper on the ground. Before she could say anything though Chanwoo noticed and threw it in the bin while chiding the older boy. It was only a minor setback for him though, as the Korean chose other ways to try and get to her.

One thing iKON never changed was their habit of leaving the spare clothing they had discarded, either spread across the benches at the side, or piled haphazardly over the edge. In amongst these she began finding notes stuck to different items, either informing her they were his and not to touch them, or that they were another of the boy’s and stealing them to sell them was illegal. Most nights she found the mirror smudged up more than normal, and sometimes there was another note stuck to it, telling her that Bobby had stood here looking at himself.

Despite the fact that Junhoe’s words and actions never ceased to worm their way under her skin and irritate her – as he so clearly intended to happen – she actually grew to enjoy leaving her own replacement messages as the weeks passed. So much so that after the first night of scribbling the boy’s out she had started bringing her own sticky notes and pen. The one thing that continued to evade her though, was why he insisted on addressing the notes to B.L, despite them clearly being intended for her. What the initials meant she was yet to figure out.

That night as she entered the room and surveyed it she immediately spotted a note stuck to the mirror, letting out a sigh as she parked the trolley up and moved towards the object with the items needed to clean it. There were several smudged hand prints and plucking the note off the surface, she cleaned them away before turning to it, snorting as she read over it.

‘Oh oppa, I wish you looked at me the way you do the mirror.’

“I’m older than Bobby, doofus,” she mentioned to no one in particular, reaching into her pocket for her own paper and pen. Then, she quickly scrawled a message back, sticking it in the previous one’s place and standing back to admire her handy work.

‘Talking to yourself again, Junhoe?’

With a quick nod of satisfaction Summer turned her attention to the rest of the mirror. By now she had worked out a solid routine and technique that saw her done in record time and allowed her to get into the rest of the room. She needed it that day as apparently iKON were starting new year preparations and were taking a shorter than usual dinner break. The girl found another note stashed away inside a ball cap that warned of some nasty repercussions should she attempt to manhandle it in anyway. Summer was incredibly tempted to leave another reply, but looking at her watch decided there wasn’t enough time before they returned.

Indeed she had just gathered up all her equipment and rolled the trolley out of the room when the first of them appeared and she let out a groan. It was Junhoe, striding up the corridor like he owned the entire building and as she continued to push the cart she idly wondered whether he was compensating for something.

“Hey B.L, surely you can’t be done already?” he questioned, a look of blatant disbelief on his face and she pulled up short, pretending to inspect her nails in retaliation.

“Sure am, it’s what happens when you work hard. What the hell does B.L mean anyway?” she asked back and his expression changed slowly to one of amusement as he reached for the studio door, opening it up and making a show of inspecting it.

“Oh look, there’s a piece of paper stuck to the mirror. How careless.”

“Enjoy it.”

“Hardly. Can you really not figure out what B.L stands for?” he quizzed, leaning against the doorframe and turning his gaze back to her. Summer didn’t bother with a retort, knowing her silence would be enough to give herself away. Junhoe shook his head slightly, as if he couldn’t fathom the idea. “B.L. Bobby Lover. Duh, what a pabo.”

“How was I supposed to guess that? Despite what you obviously think I’m not actually obsessed with him you know,” she pointed out and he crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded her.

“Really? Because most people only put celebrities as their phone background if they’re absolutely in love with them.”

“So your background is a picture of you?” Summer retorted and watched as the boy stiffened. A moment later though he was actually smirking and he shot her a wink as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Got it in one,” he said, before flashing her a picture of a selca he had clearly taken before going on stage if the make-up was anything to go by. The girl couldn’t help but burst into laughter at it, unable to quite believe that he actually had a picture of himself as a wallpaper, only stifling her giggles as the rest of the group appeared in the hall. Junhoe shot her a dark look that she couldn’t quite decipher in response, before disappearing into the room and letting the door swing shut behind him.

Biting down on her lip Summer continued on down the hall, pulling up out the front of the next practice room. Greeting the boys as they filed passed, she tilted her head curiously as Chanwoo stopped beside her.

“Hyung hasn’t been leaving more rubbish behind has he? He’s always staying behind and telling us he’ll catch up and I’m suspicious,” the boy questioned and she was slightly taken aback by it. When she thought about it though, it made sense. After all Junhoe was hardly likely to go around sticking post-it notes to mirrors when the rest of the boys were in the room. Or making-out with the mirror or whatever it was he actually did to achieve the smudges. “Noona?”

Snapping herself out of her reverie Summer shook her head at the boy, smiling at him gently. “No, he hasn’t. But you can tell him to stop messing up the mirror if you like, that’s the hardest to clean.”

“Aish, he’s acting like a grade schooler. I’m sorry noona,” he apologised, presumably on behalf of his group member, offering a deep bow and the girl immediately urged him to straighten up. She didn’t need Chanwoo’s apologies, she didn’t even need Junhoe’s - even if it would be nice.

“It’s fine Chanwoo, really. I’m a big girl and can hold my own against whatever antics he’s up to. Now go on, before I get both of us in trouble for you being late for practice,” she urged and he looked at her uncertainly, before he found his confirmation in her and with a smile and a goodbye he was scuttling over to the studio.


	12. Eleven

Time passed and the breaking up of university and decline into an abysmal winter marked the start of Summer’s work placement, which left the girl relatively nervous and strung out. Clearly the company she had been placed with was in dire need of all the help they could get while trying to cut costs, and instead of the two days a week the rest of her course were doing, they had somehow wrangled the university into getting her to do an extra half day. This meant that for the next three weeks her Friday’s would entail spending mornings at the company, afternoons giving tours to the stragglers of winter tourists, and nights at YG Entertainment. It was her first run of it and she was already struggling as she wrangled all her equipment and pushed it into iKON’s practice room.

Whatever pity she was feeling for herself was quickly erased as she entered to a scene she hadn’t expected however. The room should have been emptied several minutes ago, but instead the boys were all in there, crowded around in a circle and from what Summer could see in the reflection of the mirror one of them was in the middle. Immediately her stomach dropped, knowing that something was wrong and she made her way over.

“What’s happened?” she enquired and Yunhyeong and Bobby turned around, parting ways slightly to reveal Donghyuk on the ground, his face scrunched up as he held his ankle.

“It was the last run through, but he landed wrong,” the rapper explained, a worried look passing across his face. “He keeps trying to say he’s fine. We were just about to phone for one of the medics.”

“I’ll go get some ice,” Summer responded immediately, spinning on her heel only to be brought up short by another voice.

“I’ll come with you, you probably don’t know where to find some.” She tried to control the glare aimed at Junhoe, only due to the situation at hand. Then with a shrug of her shoulders she sped across the room and flung the door open. There was also the small fact that for once the boy was correct. Her knowledge of the building only extended to Heejin’s office and her path to the current floor. She presumed there would be some kind of kitchen, or a first aid kit that contained an ice pack somewhere, but she had to admit she didn’t know where to start looking. 

“You could use a nicer tone,” she mumbled as they made their way down the corridor, Summer letting Junhoe lead ever so slightly. With her words he looked over at her and she got the distinct feeling he had been in another world entirely.

“Huh? Whatever.” The words were brief and then he was back out again. The girl couldn’t help but watch with some fascination as his eyes practically glazed over - and yet he continued to walk with purpose. She was paying enough attention to note the way his brow twitched every now and then and she realised how worried he was about Donghyuk. With the sudden clarification Summer felt the need to say something, anything that might make things a bit better.

“I’m sure Donghyuk will be okay you know, and the ice will help,” she said, wincing inside at how pathetic the words sounded. It seemed to at least bring him back into the world again and he let out a low grunt as he turned the corner and pushed a door open.

“His ankle’s weak, it’s happened before when he’s overused it,” he started as they stepped into the room and she found they were indeed in a small kitchen. Junhoe made his way over to the first aid kit that hung on the wall, opening it up and pulling out an instant freeze pack before pausing. “The problem is we start our tour at the end of the month and I know he won’t sit out of preparations.”

“Oh.” Summer didn’t know what else to say in response, instead moving to rummage through cupboards until she found a neat stack of tea towels, pulling one out and holding it open for the boy to dump the ice pack into. Then she tied it up neatly and grasping it tightly started the retreat to the room. “If you want I can kidnap him and hold him hostage for the duration of it. You know, being a ssaesang and all.”

Despite his worry the joke wasn’t lost on Junhoe, who let out a snort as he closed the door behind them, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as they retraced their steps. “I will report you, you know.”

“And ruin my nice, clean police record,” she commented, juggling the pack between her hands subconsciously. A few moments later they were back in the practice room to find that Donghyuk had managed to make it over to the bench and was sitting there looking rather miserable. Giving him a sympathetic smile, Summer walked up to him and knelt down, pressing the pack against his ankle gingerly. The boy winced, but offered her his thanks.

A second later she was being pulled back gently as Jinhwan took over and she moved away from the group. She had just returned to her trolley when the medic arrived, sweeping across the room and ordering the boys to give them space. Summer made a half hearted attempt to started her cleaning as Donghyuk was asked twenty questions while being poked and prodded. After quiet discussion it was decided that he should be taken to the hospital to be checked out and with some rearranging was on Bobby’s back to be carried out to transportation.

For a moment the room was in chaos as the others debated what to do, until all except Junhoe and Yunhyeong had trailed out after the injured boy and his help. Summer paused in her grabbing of a broom, her eyes growing wide as Yunhyeong began to pick up the mess left behind by the group. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You lost work time because of us, you should go on to the other rooms. We can survive one night without it being sparkling, and we’re only going to mess it up anyway by practising late,” he urged and she looked at him uncertainly, conceding defeat and placing the broom back on it’s hook a moment later. “Come on Junhoe, help me pick the stuff off the floor at least.”

Summer expected the boy to retort with the order and was surprised when he merely bent to pick up a loose scrap, not a single word leaving his mouth. It was enough to make her pause again as she reached the door, glancing away again quickly so it seemed as though she never caught the way he squeezed Yunhyeong’s shoulder as he passed. 

From the first moment she had met Junhoe, Summer had received nothing but snark and difficulties, finding the boy rude and uncompassionate. But tonight admittedly made her realise that perhaps somewhere in there Koo Junhoe actually had a heart. That was a scary thought.


End file.
